Case Number 04701: Small Claims Court

FIGHTING SPIRIT: THE FIRST STEP (VOLUME 1)

The Charge

Against all odds...

The Case

It is nice to see a change of pace once in awhile. Fighting Spirit is
definitely anime, but it takes a different tack from its contemporaries by
sticking to boxing. There are no weird death rays, aliens, gangs of women in
maid costumes, or cybernetic organisms. The Earth is not under siege. There is
just Ippo, a down-and-out loner who wants to change his personality. He wants to
become a champion. Against all odds, this blue-collar youth will make it in the
boxing ring. He doesn't have to win; he just has to show the world that he can
hold his own!

If that sounds like Rocky to you, then you already know most of the
plot. In fact, plots don't get much more generic than this one: Ippo gets picked
on, meets a boxer, and trains a lot for a big match. There are no love interests
and few tertiary characters to distract us from this focus. In a weird sort of
way, that helps. Fighting Spirit becomes not about plot but about the
mental and physical workout our hero undertakes. He thinks to himself about the
logistics of fighting, and we root for him to accomplish each small step. One
episode is dedicated almost entirely to shadowboxing: how Ippo visualizes his
opponent, the mental challenges he undergoes to plan his moves and defense. This
streamlined focus gives Fighting Spirit a sense of purity and
innocence.

If that does not sound interesting to you, I understand. I personally don't
go for boxing. It is brutal and exploitative, and watching pugilists rattle each
other's internal organs simply doesn't appeal to me. For that reason, stories
about boxing have always felt tainted. I wish I could say that Fighting
Spirit is different, but it is not: Ippo gets his brain sloshed around and
his eyes pounded shut. His knuckles bleed to the bone. This is a pure boxing
story, and the storytellers relish each detail.

There is one place, however, where detail was purposefully obscured. One of
the joys of anime is its adult humor, a refreshing change from America's staid
conservatism. Fighting Spirit thrives on several moments of such adult
humor. In one instance, the guys are in the locker room after a heavy workout,
but Ippo shyly keeps a towel around his waist. Then the towel comes off and we
hear an elephant's trumpet. I can only assume that Ippo is well endowed, because
all we see is a fuzzy patch of pixels. Aside from completely ruining the scene,
this says to me "you are not mature enough to decide for yourself what to
watch." Censorship burns me up, and I wish that anime distributors were
required to state up front that the content has been censored. If I had bought
this DVD and discovered the sham, I'd have been outraged.

Aside from the pixelation, Fighting Spirit looks fine. The animation
has an old-school vibe, reminding me of Speed Racer and Street
Fighter, although neither of those comparisons is completely accurate
because Fighting Spirit is rendered with more care. There are many
instances of static scenery, where characters hold extended conversation without
moving. On the other hand, there are some fluid scenes where Ippo learns new
skills. On the whole, the animation is average, neither detracting from nor
enhancing the show. Colors are stable, though the show uses a realistically
muted palette.

The soundtrack is subdued, in keeping with Fighting Spirit's
realistic focus. Dramatic moments are not pumped up by loud music; rather, the
character's inner thoughts and the natural sounds of the ring come through. In
this sense, the soundtrack is doing its job because we feel like we are in the
ring. But the sound isn't exactly gripping; it merely does what it needs to do
to keep us in the story. The Japanese voice acting is good, while the English
voice acting borders on hokey. Fighting Spirit is one of the few animes
that contain una banda sonora española! Perhaps the best track is
this Spanish track, which is energetic and perfectly timed. It also has extra
jokes thrown in.

The only real extra is one of the best anime extras I've seen in awhile. The
voice actors had fun with many of the scenes by dubbing alternate phrases. It is
truly funny and worth checking out. This extra in combination with the
five-episode run time makes Fighting Spirit a good value.

Fighting Spirit is a pure, even sweet, story about finding your
passion and letting it invigorate your life. In this case the passion is boxing,
which gives me pause. However, if you enjoy sports stories, Fighting
Spirit is one anime you should check out.